Self contained magazine

ABSTRACT

A magazine is mounted in a firearm which includes a feed throat. The magazine has an elongated housing made of a plastic material which includes front and rear portions and a continuous passage extending through the front portion into the rear portion. A magazine spring assembly having a follower is mounted within the housing to urge an aligned row of cartridges in the passage towards the rear portion. The rear portion includes two lower spaced walls which define a slot in communication with the passage for receiving a feed pawl attached to the feed throat. The rear portion further includes an opening communicating with the passage to permit loading of the magazine and feed pawl urged egress of the rearmost cartridge in the passage from the magazine into the feed throat. An extension in the rear portion is adapted to be received in a notch in the feed throat. The extension includes an abutment which contacts the rearmost cartridge to retain the cartridges in the magazine. A bolt, slideably mounted in the firearm, is movable to contact a cartridge positioned in the feed throat by the feed pawl and urge it into the chamber of the firearms.

United States Patent Domian et al.

[451 May 36, 1972 [54] SELF CONTAINED MAGAZINE [72] Inventors: Robert E. Domian; Paul A. La Violette,

both of Tolland New Haven, Conn.

[73] Assignee: Colts lnc., Hartford, Conn.

[22] Filed: Mar. 2, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 15,404

Primary E.raminerBenjamin A. Borchelt Assistant ExaminerC. T. Jordan AttorneyRadf0rd W. Luther [5 7] ABSTRACT A magazine is mounted in a firearm which includes a feed throat. The magazine has an elongated housing made of a plastic material which includes front and rear portions and a continuous passage extending through the front portion into the rear portion. A magazine spring assembly having a follower is mounted within the housing to urge an aligned row of cartridges in the passage towards the rear portion. The rear portion includes two lower spaced walls which define a slot in communication with the passage for receiving a feed pawl attached to the feed throat. The rear portion further includes an opening communicating with the passage to permit loading of the magazine and feed pawl urged egress of the rearmost cartridge in the passage from the magazine into the feed throat. An extension in the rear portion is adapted to be received in a notch in the feed throat. The extension includes an abutment which contacts the reannost cartridge to retain the cartridges in the magazine. A bolt, slideably mounted in the firearm, is movable to contact a cartridge positioned in the feed throat by the feed pawl and urge it into the chamber of the firearms.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures Patented May 30, 1972 3,665,631

2 Sheets-Sheet l 5y Flaw w. W

Patented May 30, 1972 3,665,631

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 SELF CONTAINED MAGAZINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention pertains to magazines for firearms and more particularly to tubular magazines adapted to contain an axially aligned row of cartridges.

Tubular magazines in existing firearms generally comprise an integral part of the firearm with which they are associated. Loading of cartridges in a typical prior art magazine of the tubular variety magazine requires manipulating the firearm to arrive at a position from which the cartridges may be conveniently inserted. The final portion of the loading operation involves inserting a spring follower assembly in the firearm. The loading operation would be attended with less difficulty if it were merely necessary to remove the magazine from the firearm, load it, and then reinsert it in the firearm, as is the case with the well-known pistol clip.

An example of a self contained magazine similar to that of the instant invention is described in my copending application entitled Self Contained Magazine, Ser. No. 854,092, filed Aug. 29, I969 now abandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A self contained magazine, for a firearm having a feed throat, has a continuous passage extending substantially through the front and rear portions thereof for containing an axially aligned row of cartridges. The rear portion includes an extension and two spaced walls which define a slot adapted to receive a feed pawl. The slot communicates with the passage to permit the feed pawl to contact the rearmost cartridge and urge it out of the passage into the feed throat through an opening in the rear portion. The extension comprises an abutment integral with the housing which contacts the rear end of the rearmost cartridge. A magazine spring is mounted within the housing to contact the forwardmost cartridge and thereby urge the rearmost cartridge against the abutment. The force exerted upon the rearmost cartridge by the abutment and the succeeding cartridge serves to retain the rearmost cartridge in the magazine. The segment of the passage in the rear portion forms an obtuse angle with the segment of the passage in the front portion to inhibit displacement of the rearmost cartridge.

A magazine according to the invention is particularly suited to being fashioned out of low cost plastic materials, such as Nylon. This enables significant economies to be effected in manufacturing the magazine.

The present invention also includes a specially designed feed throat having a notch therein to directly engage the extension of the magazine. Provision is also made in the feed throat to mount a feed pawl thereon.

A user of a firearm incorporating the invention may thus load the firearm by merely detaching the magazine, loading the same, and then reattaching it to the firearm.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide an inexpensive self contained magazine which may be loaded apart from its associated firearm.

It is another object to provide a magazine which is particularly suited to being made of a plastic material.

A further object is the provision of a feed throat which is adapted to directly engage a magazine.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a firearm incorporating a magazine and feed throat according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a broken away perspective view of the magazine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the magazine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the magazine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a broken away perspective view of the feed throat of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a broken away front elevational view of the feed throat of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the firearm of FIG. 1 taken along the line 7-7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a magazine, generally designated at 6, releasably mounted within a firearm, generally designated at 8. Turning now to FIG. 2, wherein the magazine, per se, is shown, it can be observed that the magazine 6 is formed by an elongated housing 10, the housing being made of a plastic material, such as Nylon or Zytel. Housing 10 comprises a front portion 12 and a rear portion 14. A continuous longitudinal tubular passage 16 extends substantially throughout the entire length of the housing as best shown in FIG. 7. The passage 16 is adapted to contain an aligned row of cartridges 17 arranged in tandem. The continuous passage is formed by a first segment in the front portion 12 and a second segment in the rear portion 14. These segments define an obtuse angle which aids in retaining the rearmost cartridge within the second segment of continuous passage 16.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 7, rear portion 14 of housing 10 includes an extension 22. Rear portion 14 also has an opening 24 in the top thereof to permit loading of cartridges in the magazine passage 16 and egress of the cartridges therefrom. The opening 24 is generally coextensive with the second segment of the passage 16, as shown in FIG. 4. The lower part of rear portion 14 includes two vertical walls 26 and 28, which define a slot 30. Slot 30, which communicates with passage 16, is further defined by a generally vertical surface 31a and a generally horizontal surface 31b. Slot 30 functions as a receptacle for a feed pawl, as is described hereinafter. As will be noted from FIG. 4, the rearmost part of opening 24 is wider than the front part thereof to allow the rim of the rearmost cartridge to pass therethrough. At the extremity of extension 22 are abutments 32 and 34 which are integral with the sides of the second segment of passage 16. These abutments contact the rear end of the rearmost cartridge to retain the row of cartridges in the passage.

A magazine compression spring 36 is mounted within the first segment of the passage 16 to urge the row of cartridges towards the abutments. A follower 38, connected to the rear end of spring 36, is adapted to contact the front of the forwardmost cartridge in response to the urging of the spring. A radial projection 40 on follower 38 extends through elongated slot 42 in housing 10 to enable the follower to be manually positioned within the first segment of passage 16. A pin 44 is fixedly secured to follower 38 and extends forwardly therefrom through the coils of spring 36. Pin 44 is adapted to be slidingly received within an aperture 46 at the front end of housing 10. Pin 44 facilitates removal of the magazine from the firearm, as is subsequently explained.

Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown a feed throat 50 designed to engage magazine 6. The feed throat 50 is generally conventional in construction save for the provision of a notch, generally shown at 51, which is adapted to receive extension 22 of magazine 6. Notch 51 is defined by lower slanting walls 52 and 54, and vertical walls 56 and 58, the vertical walls being defined by the base 60 of feed throat 50 and longitudinal guide structures 62 and 64. The upper walls 66 and 68 of the notch are formed by the lower surfaces of the guide structures 62 and 64 respectively. These upper walls are generally parallel to lower slanting walls 52 and 54. A bore 70 in base 60 is adapted to receive a mounting pin 71 (FIG. 7), which provides a pivot for a feed pawl 72.

Referring to FIG. 7, wherein the structural relationship between the firearm, magazine, and feed throat is shown, the magazine 6 is releasably mounted within firearm 8. The feed throat 50, of course, forms an integral part of the firearm and is firmly connected thereto. The firearm also includes a bolt 76 slideably mounted within the receiver of the firearm for axial movement therein; a barrel 78; and a spring biased locking lug 80 positioned within recess 82 for sliding movement therein. The tip of locking lug 80 resembles a frustrum of a cone, as does the front portion of aperture 46.

Magazine 6 is installed in firearm 8 by inserting extension 22 in notch 51 and then moving the front end of magazine 8 towards the barrel 78 so as to cause the tip of locking lug 80 to snap into the mating front portion of aperture 46. The magazine is removed from the firearm by moving pin 44 into the locking lug 80 a distance sufficient to cause the locking lug to be withdrawn from the aperture. Then, the magazine is pivoted slightly about notch 51 in a counterclockwise manner to thereby allow the removal of extension 22 from notch 51.

In the installed position of the magazine, illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of feed pawl 72 is received within slot 30. The feed pawl is movable upwardly under the bias of a spring 82 into the second segment of passage 16 to urge the rearmost cartridge in the passage into position in feed throat 50.

In operation, retraction of the bolt 76 causes ejection of the shell in the chamber and an upward or clockwise movement of pawl 72. After the pawl 72 completes this upward movement, the rearmost cartridge is oriented in such a manner that forward movement of the bolt causes it to contact the cartridge and push the cartridge into the chamber. It will be noted that the extremity of the feed pawl engages the rear end of the succeeding cartridge when the rearmost cartridge is so oriented. As the rearmost cartridge is chambered, the pawl undergoes a downward displacement, thereby allowing the succeeding cartridge to be spring urged into the second segment of passage 16 by follower 38. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this manner of operation is conventional.

Obviously, modifications and changes in the disclosed embodiment are possible without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. A self contained magazine for a firearm having a feed throat comprising an elongated housing having a front portion, a rear portion, and a continuous passage therein extending through the front and rear portions for containing an aligned row of cartridges, the continuous passage being formed by a first segment in the front portion of the housing and a second segment in the rear portion of the housing such that the first segment forms an obtuse angle with the second segment to retain the cartridges in the magazine, the rear portion including two walls defining a slot therebetween in communication with the passage for receiving a feed pawl to contact the rearmost cartridge and urge the same into the feed throat of the firearm, the rear portion having an opening communicating with the passage for permitting loading of the magazine and egress of the rearmost cartridge from the passage into the feed throat of the firearm in response to urging of the feed pawl, an abutment integral with the housing in the rear portion thereof for contacting the rearmost cartridge, the part of the opening adjacent the abutment being wider than the front part thereof to allow the rim of the rearmost cartridge to pass therethrough, and spring means mounted within the front portion of the housing for urging the row of cartridges towards the abutment to cause the reannost cartridge to contact the abutment.

2. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein the rear portion of the housing comprises an extension surrounding a part of the passage, and wherein the abutment is located at the end of the extension.

3. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein a follower is attached to the spring means for contacting the forwardmost cartridge, and wherein the housing has an elongated slot communicating with the passage in the front portion thereof, and wherein a radial projection is integral with the follower and extends through the elongated slot for positioning the follower.

4. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein the housing is made of a plastic material.

5. In combination, a firearm, a self contained magazine adapted to be attached to the firearm, the magazine comprismg an elongated housing having a front portion and a rear portion, a continuous passage therein extending through the front and rear portions for containing an aligned row of cartridges, the continuous passage being formed by a first segment in the front portion of the housing and a second segment in the rear portion of the housing such that the first segment forms an obtuse angle with the second segment to retain the cartridges in the magazine, the rear portion including two walls defining a slot therebetween communicating with the passage, the rear portion having an opening communicating with the passage for permitting loading of the magazine and egress of the rearmost cartridge from the passage into the firearm, an abutment integral with the housing in the rear portion thereof for contacting the rear end of the rearmost cartridge, a spring means mounted within the front portion of the housing for urging the row of cartridges towards the abutment to cause the rearmost cartridge to contact the abutment, a feed throat in the firearm to engage the magazine and receive cartridges therefrom, and cooperating means on the firearm and the magazine to releasably install the magazine in the firearm such that the magazine may be quickly removed from the firearm, loaded, and replaced therein.

6. The combination, as defined in claim 5, wherein the feed throat comprises a notch, and wherein the rear portion of the housing comprises an extension surrounding a part of the passage and adapted to engage the notch, the abutment being located at the end of the extension.

7. The combination, as defined in claim 5, further including a receiver in the firearm located adjacent the feed throat, a bolt positioned in the receiver for axial sliding movement, a feed pawl operatively connected to the feed throat and movable within the slot to urge the rearmost cartridge out of the passage, through the opening and into the feed throat such that axial movement of the bolt effects a moving contact between the bolt and the cartridge in the feed throat. 

1. A self contained magazine for a firearm having a feed throat comprising an elongated housing having a front portion, a rear portion, and a continuous passage therein extending through the front and reaR portions for containing an aligned row of cartridges, the continuous passage being formed by a first segment in the front portion of the housing and a second segment in the rear portion of the housing such that the first segment forms an obtuse angle with the second segment to retain the cartridges in the magazine, the rear portion including two walls defining a slot therebetween in communication with the passage for receiving a feed pawl to contact the rearmost cartridge and urge the same into the feed throat of the firearm, the rear portion having an opening communicating with the passage for permitting loading of the magazine and egress of the rearmost cartridge from the passage into the feed throat of the firearm in response to urging of the feed pawl, an abutment integral with the housing in the rear portion thereof for contacting the rearmost cartridge, the part of the opening adjacent the abutment being wider than the front part thereof to allow the rim of the rearmost cartridge to pass therethrough, and spring means mounted within the front portion of the housing for urging the row of cartridges towards the abutment to cause the rearmost cartridge to contact the abutment.
 2. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein the rear portion of the housing comprises an extension surrounding a part of the passage, and wherein the abutment is located at the end of the extension.
 3. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein a follower is attached to the spring means for contacting the forwardmost cartridge, and wherein the housing has an elongated slot communicating with the passage in the front portion thereof, and wherein a radial projection is integral with the follower and extends through the elongated slot for positioning the follower.
 4. A self contained magazine, as defined in claim 1, wherein the housing is made of a plastic material.
 5. In combination, a firearm, a self contained magazine adapted to be attached to the firearm, the magazine comprising an elongated housing having a front portion and a rear portion, a continuous passage therein extending through the front and rear portions for containing an aligned row of cartridges, the continuous passage being formed by a first segment in the front portion of the housing and a second segment in the rear portion of the housing such that the first segment forms an obtuse angle with the second segment to retain the cartridges in the magazine, the rear portion including two walls defining a slot therebetween communicating with the passage, the rear portion having an opening communicating with the passage for permitting loading of the magazine and egress of the rearmost cartridge from the passage into the firearm, an abutment integral with the housing in the rear portion thereof for contacting the rear end of the rearmost cartridge, a spring means mounted within the front portion of the housing for urging the row of cartridges towards the abutment to cause the rearmost cartridge to contact the abutment, a feed throat in the firearm to engage the magazine and receive cartridges therefrom, and cooperating means on the firearm and the magazine to releasably install the magazine in the firearm such that the magazine may be quickly removed from the firearm, loaded, and replaced therein.
 6. The combination, as defined in claim 5, wherein the feed throat comprises a notch, and wherein the rear portion of the housing comprises an extension surrounding a part of the passage and adapted to engage the notch, the abutment being located at the end of the extension.
 7. The combination, as defined in claim 5, further including a receiver in the firearm located adjacent the feed throat, a bolt positioned in the receiver for axial sliding movement, a feed pawl operatively connected to the feed throat and movable within the slot to urge the rearmost cartridge out of the passage, through the opening and into the feed throat such that axial movement of the bolt effects a moving contact between the bolt and the cartridge in the feed throat. 